Game 106, 2019

Dodgers at Nationals, 1:05 PM PDT, TV: MASN, SPNLA

LHP Clayton Kershaw (8-2, 2.84 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers and RHP Joe Ross (0-2, 9.45 ERA) takes the mound for the Nationals. In his last start Kershaw went six scoreless innings and struck out ten, leaving with a six-run lead and then watching the bullpen give up all of it. Fortunately for the Dodgers, Matt Beaty hit a three-run HR in the 8th inning to give the Dodgers the eventual win. Ross will be making his second start of the year; his first was Sunday, July 21. He gave up three runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings in a spot start.

Here’s Turner’s 8th-inning three-run HR which gave the Dodgers a 4-1 lead:

Yesterday was the fourth consecutive day someone had a three-HR game.

The streak began with Robinson Cano of the New York Mets on Tuesday. Paul DeJong of the St. Louis Cardinals and Nelson Cruz of the Minnesota Twins followed up on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, before Betts went deep three times in the first four innings against Yankees starter James Paxton.

Prior to Thursday, it had never actually happened on three straight days in MLB history.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1918 In his major league debut, Robins (Dodgers) starter Harry Heitman, after giving up hits to four consecutive batters in a 22-7 loss to the Cardinals, is pulled from the Ebbets Field contest. The 21 year-old Brooklyn rookie right-hander will never hurl again in the big leagues, ending his career with an ERA of infinity.
  • 1959 The Continental League is formally announced, with franchises located in Denver, Houston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York City, and Toronto. The concept of the new major league is the brainchild of William Shea, an attorney who proposed the idea a year after the Giants and Dodgers left New York City to move to the West Coast.
  • 1966 Sandy Koufax strikes out 16 Phillies and Jim Bunning whiffs 12 Dodgers in the first 11 innings of a pitching duel between future Hall of Famers at Chavez Ravine. With both starters out of the game, Los Angeles beats Philadelphia, 2-1, thanks to an unearned run scored in the bottom of the twelfth inning.
  • 1998 Tony Womack of the Pirates establishes a new major league mark by not grounding out into a double play in 888 consecutive at-bats, breaking the record previously established by Dodger outfielder Pete Reiser in 1946.
  • 2005 Ryan Freel becomes the first player in the Reds’ 136-year history to steal five bases in a game, including two in the ninth that moves him to third base, where he scores the eventual winning run on Felipe Lopez’s sacrifice fly. The Cincinnati second baseman’s thievery contributes to the team’s 7-6 victory over the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. [Note: the Dodgers’ catcher was Jason Phillips, in his only season with the team.]

Lineup when available.

116 thoughts on “Game 106, 2019

  1. Grace was the first lefty starter or opener the Dodgers had seen since Boston. I think Doc’s finally got the right approach to lefty openers, putting Joc way down in the order to wait for the righty to come in. The Dodgers are now 21-12 when a southpaw starts.

  2. Back in the U.S.A. as of last night, after a 12-hour flight from Rome to California. Glad to see you all kept the Dodgers comfortably in front in the NL West, although they haven’t been at the top of their game, Sure hope that the Giants don’t grab one of those wild-card spots….If you have never been in Italy, I highly recommend it. Great people, beautiful scenery, tremendous food. We spent most of our time in Assisi, a lovely and historic hillside town. Whether or not one is Catholic, or even religious, the Basilica there with great works by Giotto is remarkable…The only English-language channel in Assisi was CNN International. Did not hear a single mention of baseball, but there was plenty about the British Open, world cricket championships and Formula 1 and saw some Italian broadcasts of the world swimming championships and coverage of a major archery tournament in Berlin. Night games on the West Coast begin at about 4 a.m. the following day in Italy.

  3. Something is wrong with Game Day! It shows that the Dodgers received some offense from a catcher.

  4. Late arriving to the park (Dodgers fan after all). Today field level about ten feet up the line from first.

      • Big range. You can get in for as little as ten bucks, but a beer will cost you more than that.

        • Ha! Sounds familiar. When the AAA Islanders left Hawai’i it was partly because the city raised the parking fee to more than a general admission ticket to the game.

          • I got my tickets to Red Sox game in Fenway through StubHub and they charged a $32 processing fee per ticket. Weren’t Dodger Reserve Level tickets $11 about 50 years ago.

          • Sometime in the late 1980s a friend and I walked up to the ticket counter at Dodger Stadium and paid no more than $10 for Reserve level tickets, as I recall. It surely wasn’t more than $15.

        • When we went several years ago (the black out game) we paid around 55 dollars for seats near the right field foul pole.

  5. Somehow I think Smith won’t be included in any trade package for relievers

  6. AtBat app says the Nats’ starter (probably an “opener”) is LHP Matt Grace (fifth season with Washington, and I’ve never heard of him).

    • Grace is 30 years old, has a career 4-4 W-L record in the bigs, debuted in 2015 and attended UCLA.

      And was born in Palos Verdes Estates, Ca., near where I lived for about 18 months in 1959-1960.

  7. Joe Kelly making HIS case for the Dodgers to get relief support at trade deadline.

    • The kid is having some kind of a back-to-the-majors game. He fouled off two straight 0-2 pitches before doubling.

      • Yes, I just saw that now. Jansen worries me considerably. One bad inning in a post-season series can spell doom, as it has in the World Series the last two seasons.

        • Relievers weren’t our problem in the last two WS, though, of course they could be if we reach another one.

        • What worries me most is his propensity for gopher balls. He gave 13 last year, double what he’d ever surrendered in his career. Thru game 105 he’s given up six, which is tied for second-most in his career.

          HRs are such crushers in the playoffs that’s this is not a trend I want to see.

      • Also in that article:

        Right-hander Ross Stripling was placed on the Injured List with right biceps tendinitis Saturday and right-hander Jaime Schultz was promoted from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

        Stripling had been bothered by a stiff neck during his most recent start and the discomfort persisted during brief flat-ground throwing sessions the past two days.

  8. Smith has three RBIs today, the second time he has that many in one game in his brief time with the Dodgers this season. Barnes achieved that number once, Martin has not.

  9. In the last several games the Dodger starters have pitched well and left with a lead only to get a no decision. Maybe Kersh is on to something by giving up 2 runs in the first.

    • He’s mowing the Nats down now and Smith will get several more at bats so we are in good shape.

  10. Dodgers outsmarted Nats by putting hitters that could hit lefties at the top of the order. Or not!

  11. Kersh has made lots of good pitches but couldn’t put the hitter away resulting in trouble.

  12. Pederson in the 8 hole? Of course there isn’t really a weak bat in that lineup.